Faith is a Three-Legged Stool

Faith is a Three-Legged Stool

Author: Patrick McWhorter

Published by Christian Day Publishing Company at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Christian Day Publishing Company

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"And if I have the gift of prophecy,

and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith,

so as to remove mountains,

but have not love,

I am nothing."

I Corinthians 13:2

(American Standard Version)

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

1. Are You Aiming at the Wrong Faith?

2. The Tragedy of Unsaved Believers

3. Essential Elements

4. Belief Versus True Belief

5. Faith Versus Works

6. Faith With Works…Alive or Dead?

7. The Inseparable Marriage

8. The Impossible Call

9. The Importance of Motivation

10. What Faith is NOT

11. The Highest Forms of Faith

12.The Sharing of Faith

About the Author

Is your faith genuine?

Is it weak faith, little faith, great faith, perfect faith or, as James described, dead faith?

Faith is your only means of pleasing God.

Not only can you know whether your faith is pleasing to Him, you must know. You must not accept anything less than genuine faith, which comes directly from the Word of God as taught by the Holy Spirit. No other way exists to have genuine faith.

And what is that genuine faith? Simple belief, as so many people presume? Or is there more to faith than today’s understanding of what it means to believe?

Mere presumption of truth comes when we accept the religious teachings and philosophies of men without making sure that what we’ve heard agrees with scripture and has the Holy Spirit’s confirmation.

Genuine faith requires the heart of a child to grasp it. If you use grown-up logic to understand it, you might miss it.

May this book fire your love for God’s truth and assure you of obtaining and maintaining genuine faith!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book has been stirring about in me for several years, having to take a back seat to my passion for writing in other genres. But the Lord has been patient with me, allowing me to see that my goals are only truly important as they mirror His plans.

He brought few encouragers as I got this manuscript in readable form. I began along the normal route of seeking the interest of publishing industry professionals and the comments of full-time ministers, but before long the Lord showed me that His direction and approval were the only confirmations I needed to proceed with the book.

On reading my first draft, my wife, Laurie, was the first person to wave the green flag by speaking five words. This is an important book, she said. She is not given to hyperbole. Thank you, Laurie.

Above all, I give thanks to the Lord for allowing me to have a part in this project with Him.

The author

PREFACE

Patrick McWhorter is a layman. He has a degree in Journalism, not Theology. He has never pastored a church or held a high position in national ministry.

The thing that qualifies this writer, in the normal human sense of qualification, to write this book is that when Jesus died, the veil separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple of God was rent and the Holy Spirit, at the appointed time, made a dwelling place in this writer’s heart.

By the same means, the way into the presence of God was opened to all followers of Christ, even to former sinners of the Gentile persuasion, no longer just to the high priest in Judaism.

Is that a small thing?

No, it is the greatest event in the history of mankind!

Greater than possession of any degree. Greater than letters after one’s name.

As great and uplifting as it is to receive instruction from knowledgeable and dedicated men and women of God, it can be in vain without the understanding that comes by the Holy Spirit of God. To have the Holy Spirit as Teacher is far superior to sitting under the tutelage of any revered and lettered gathering of credentialed faculty members of which any university might conceivably boast.

Yet, of course, this author claims no special favor in being taught by the Holy Spirit, for all believers have the same privilege to be so taught.

However, he believes that this book contains an aspect of Biblical understanding that has been largely overlooked in the foundational doctrines held by many in American Christianity.

The author has the temerity to believe God has commissioned him to make clear a single, seemingly small point about the nature of faith.

He thinks that small point is important enough for a book.

And he thinks the direction of the Holy Spirit is qualification enough.

So please overlook the fact that this preface does not present a long list of the author’s achievements. As you read, imagine that you have seen and heard this writer numerous times over many years, if that will help you accept the authority of the Word of God administered under his stewardship.

Thank you for reading this book.

May God use it to improve your understanding of faith.

INTRODUCTION

Why would anyone write – or read, for that matter – a book defining faith?

Simply because many people need to understand faith more intimately.

Surely many of us who are God’s children do have a firm grasp of what faith is through the teaching and correction of the Holy Spirit.

But just as surely, others do not.

God said about certain of His children, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. (Deuteronomy 32:19-20)

While some may have great faith, others may have weak faith, and some, little faith. We learn from James that some who hope or think they are God’s children may even have dead faith. Paul commended Timothy on showing forth unfeigned or sincere faith, which clearly implies the existence, conversely, of insincere or non-genuine faith. Further, we see in scripture the antithesis of genuine faith:

I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. I Corinthians 15:1-2

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you do not want to dwell in any kind or degree of faith that is vain or not genuine and not optimally effective. We need the strongest and most effective faith possible.

This book is for those who (A) don’t really know how strong or weak their faith may be, (B) who do not yet have a sound grasp of faith, or (C) realize their current faith may be lacking something, and who (D) desire to have great faith.

Even if you consider your grasp of faith to be sound, do not stop reading. Instead, pray for deeper understanding, especially that you might be able to share truth with others. As you will see, this book is not written for the purpose of bringing condemnation or guilt upon anyone, but with the hope of increasing and improving your faith and correcting any misconceptions about faith that might exist.

To that end, I pray that no one reading this book will take offense at finding himself or herself falling short of the faith described herein, but will, instead, seek wholeheartedly to have God redirect his heart to embrace a strong, genuine Biblical faith in Jesus Christ, a faith that can and will withstand the inevitable trials intended to purify it for His glory.

In these last days, believers must be able to recognize the difference between true faith and false faith, and assist others to grasp the former. The Bible says, Without faith it is impossible to please God. It should be obvious that false prophets, false teachers and false christs have false faith, that is, a faith that is not pleasing to God. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. (v. 24, ASV)

We are told to know those who labor among us. (I Thessalonians 5:12) That injunction does not mean to have a superficial acquaintance. We should know them well enough to know whether they walk by true faith or false faith.

If we look only to signs and wonders as proof that someone is a genuine follower of Christ, we might be led astray, for we know that signs and wonders can come from false as well as from true followers. So our understanding of faith must enable us to discern the difference. We must be able to avoid even the slightest deceptions brought by the enemy of our souls!

Even if you are one who knows intuitively what faith means, you need to know how to explain it to those who do not, especially to rear your children and disciple others in genuine faith. The odds are very high that you know someone who has a shallow understanding of faith.

Without doubt, many rely on platitudes, oversimplified definitions, traditional thinking or on a single scripture to define faith for them.

These people might consider faith such a simple concept that no one could misunderstand it. After all, faith is fundamental to Christianity. And many have been taught that faith is simple.

One person might say, Faith means simply believing.

Another might insist, No, it means trusting God.

Still others quote the writer of the book of Hebrews, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Certainly, belief, trust, the evidence of things not seen – these are aspects of faith. And faith is nothing without a vital, committed relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We could add other shades of meaning to faith, but individual, narrowly defined definitions cannot reflect the entirety of its meaning.

But wait, you say. The substance-and-evidence definition is right out of the Bible. Doesn’t that settle the issue?

Let me explain this way. The Bible says God is love. But does the word love completely describe God? When it is applied to God, even that beautiful word needs much more explanation than the common human understanding of love can provide. Do you really suppose that one scripture is sufficient to describe God? Consider, too, the scripture that says He is light. If we tried to pick a single scripture to gain some understanding of God, we would be very disadvantaged. Even many scriptures revealing aspects of His being are insufficient to define Him.

It is also true that no single scripture can adequately